services risk_management emergency_management

Emergency Management

The purpose of this website is to educate and inform the campus community on how to prepare for and respond to an emergency, not to provide emergency notifications.

BERT

Building Emergency Response Team (BERT)

ASU has developed a network of volunteer personnel to assist with developing emergency response plans and procedures for campus facilities. Faculty and staff primarily comprise the team, and are trained to execute leadership roles and responsibilities during emergencies. The BERT Roster depicts the representatives and their assigned facilities.

In the event of an emergency, BERT personnel will implement the applicable Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for their assigned facility. EAPs provide procedural guidance that is specifically tailored for each campus facility. Evacuation, shelter-in-place and lockdown EAP Templates are provided to help BERT personnel develop facility-specific emergency procedures.

BERT personnel also assist with drills designed to test and improve our plans/procedures and campus emergency preparedness. The campus community is encouraged to obtain an understanding of procedures and participate in facility/campus drills.

We recommend faculty and staff learn who the BERT representatives are for the facilities they frequent before an emergency occurs.

Emergency Communications

ASUAlert is the primary method to rapidly communicate an emergency to the campus community. All faculty, staff and students are automatically enrolled in this free service to receive emergency notifications via their ASU email account. We strongly recommend that students and employees go to ASUAlert and follow the instructions to receive notifications via text message and/or phone call.

The Office of Communications and Marketing will update the ASU website to provide information updates and emergency guidance to the campus as a situation develops.

Emergency Notifications and Warnings

ASUAlert is used to issue notifications and warnings of incidents that pose a safety or security threat to the campus community. An “All Clear” will be issued once an incident has been resolved.

Emergency Notifications

Emergency notifications may be issued for a specific facility or the entire campus, based on the scope of the incident. Notifications will be brief and normally include required actions.

Code Blue is the terminology used to indicate an emergency exists that poses a significant threat to the campus, and that immediate action is required.

Warnings

Warnings will be issued by University Police, based on circumstances or events that affect the safety of the campus community. These types of incidents necessitate issuing a campus warning:

Severe weather, including thunderstorms, tornados, snow/ice storms, flash floods or wildfires, which may require people to seek shelter or take other actions.

Evacuations are normally implemented due to a threat emanating from within a facility, such as a gas leak, and may necessitate the evacuation of a larger area or the entire campus.

Campus closures are implemented as a result of inclement weather or some other unforeseeable event that disrupts campus operations.

Special alerts are issued for unusual circumstances or events that impact the campus community, such as a street detour or a parking lot closure.

The emergency warning siren located on top of the Center for Human Performance will be activated by the city during severe weather warnings such as a tornado.

Active Shooter Scenario

One of the most dangerous potential threats to our campus is an active shooter. We highly recommend you view these videos for information on how to survive an active shooter situation.

Run, Hide, Fight, Surviving an Active Shooter Event

Preparedness

Emergency Preparedness

ASU is committed to creating and maintaining a safe campus environment. All aspects of emergency management planning and preparedness are directed by the chief of police and the emergency management coordinator, and are inclusive of all university operations.

The Emergency Operations Guide depicts, in broad terms, how the campus will prepare for, respond to, and recover from man-made or natural accidents/incidents requiring extraordinary protection of life and property and/or continuity of operations.

The Emergency Response Guide provides concise information about step-by-step procedures for how to respond during campus emergencies.

Although specialized teams and processes are organized to implement the university’s emergency management operations, the campus community is responsible for being familiar with emergency plans and procedures. University employees are encouraged to review emergency preparedness information and participate in drills and exercises.

Storm Shelters

During severe weather, such as tornados, the campus will be notified to implement shelter-in-place procedures. Storm Shelters have been designated for all campus facilities and BERT members will assist facility occupants with accessing these areas. If you are outside, move to the nearest facility and seek shelter. If you unable to locate a storm shelter; move to an interior room on the lowest floor, avoid areas with windows, and close doors to protect you from flying debris.

Campus Closings

The university has an established procedure regarding the suspension of classes and closing of offices during inclement weather such as ice or snow. Adverse conditions such as a power outage, chemical/gas leak, bomb threat or similar situation would also result in closing the campus. Announcements will be made via ASUAlert, local television and radio stations, and the ASU website informing students and employees of the situation. ASU OP 52.20 establishes the procedures regarding staffing the university during inclement weather or adverse conditions.

Essential Personnel

Essential personnel are employees who have been designated as critical to the operation of the university and whose presence is required regardless of the existence of an emergency condition or university closing, and whose absence from duty could endanger the safety or well-being of the campus population and/or facilities.

Business Continuity

Business continuity can be defined as “a process that provides for the continuation of time-sensitive or critical services that are fundamental to the university’s mission.” The primary focus of emergency management is to protect life and university assets, mitigate the impact of an event, and restore the campus to a pre-event level. The goal of business continuity is to achieve a cost-effective solution that balances the value of potential losses to the university and its assets against the cost of guaranteeing continuity of time-sensitive or critical university processes. Advance planning is necessary to achieve this goal and to ensure a minimum level of service is provided during any type of business interruption.

How to Prepare

Visit Ready.gov for checklists and more information about emergency preparedness.

Training

Training

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through its partner, the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), provides several online independent study courses that can better prepare an individual and/or organization to respond to an emergency. In addition to the EMI, employees can participate in local or state emergency management training or exercises. The calendar of events can be found on the Texas Division of Emergency Management website.

ASU’s Operating Policy states that any essential members of the university community should take the following courses:

IS 100.HE – Introduction to the Incident Command System for Higher Education

IS 200.b – Incident Command Systems for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents

Note: “Course Date” refers to when course material was last revised, not to the date that the course is available.

If you have any questions about additional training or courses, please contact the Office of Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management.

CPR/AED Training

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are strategically located throughout the campus and in the vehicles of on-duty University Police for use during medical emergencies. Please see the Automated External Defibrillators Map for specific AED locations.

You may visit the University Recreation website or contact the Office of Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management to coordinate CPR/AED training.

Drills and Exercises

ASU is committed to creating and maintaining a culture of safety and participates in several forms of drills and exercises designed to test a variety of emergency response functions, including, but not limited to:

Mass notification

Campus emergency operations center

Campus response plans and procedures

Facility emergency action plans

Sign up for ASUAlert, the communication system used to issue emergency notifications and warnings of incidents that pose a safety or security threat to the campus community.

stormready designation

NOAA National Weather Service officials have recognized Angelo State University as a StormReady® community since 2010. ASU was one of the earliest universities recognized.